Chili Pepper

Dear Pharmacist: You've mentioned that cayenne pepper is very healing for the stomach and can prevent ulcers. How can that be? I thought chili pepper would burn a hole in your gut faster than you could say, "hot chili pepper. " Not so? — A.M., The Villages, Fla. Dear A.M.: Not so. While capsaicin — the heat-causing compound found in varying degrees in all chilies — would most likely light up an existing ulcer, it nevertheless has been shown to destroy the ulcer-causing H. pylori bacteria.

Four people were taken to the hospital, one with serious injuries, after an early morning fight at a popular and controversial Fort Lauderdale nightclub. Police and fire officials were called out to the Chili Pepper at about 4:31 a.m. Saturday. Patrons and at least one bouncer were involved in the melee, said Stephen McInerny, Fort Lauderdale Fire-Rescue division chief. Firefighters initially treated David Laliberte, 31, of Everett, Mass., for lacerations on an eye and his head. As they were getting ready to leave, they were called to the back of the two-story club complex to treat three more men. One of the men, Brian Witty, 26, was transported to Broward General Medical Center in critical condition but later was listed in serious condition.

Rock adventurer David Bowie is launching a 16-city North American tour scheduled to bring him to the Chili Pepper in Fort Lauderdale on Oct. 7. The man behind Space Oddity is touring in support of Earthling, acclaimed by critics as Bowie's best album in more than a decade. The British-born rocker and a four-piece band featuring guitar wizard Reeves Gabrels are playing club- and theater-sized venues for six weeks, beginning Sept. 6 in Vancouver. This has been a revival year for Bowie, who celebrated his 50th birthday and Earthling's release with a sold-out, all-star concert at New York's Madison Square Garden.

Since it's tough to recommend Insane Clown Posse, except as a test case for free-speech rights, I'll mention the other twisted soul playing the Chili Pepper in Fort Lauderdale on Sunday. Motor City rapper Esham is known throughout hip-hop as the godfather of Detroit rap, a black-humored mix of street talk and freaky beats that, coming from this MC, sounds like a block party for the apocalypse. Esham was 13 when he released his indie debut, Boomin' Words From Hell, in 1990. A grand old man of 23, the cultish track-and-rhyme wizard has put a mark, for better and worse, on the buck-wild stylings of other famous Michi-grunts: Insane Clown Posse and millionaire weasel Eminem are among the Esham-ites who exclaim their debt -- without, of course, ever being half as creative.

The Chili Pepper goes abroad in December for concerts by international acts: German dance grinders KMFDM on Monday and British floor-shakers Sneaker Pimps on Dec. 14. KMFDM is an all-ages show but probably shouldn't be: The band's doomsday aesthetic could give nightmares to even the most rave-seasoned teen. Plus, KMFDM's opening act is the vehemently crude performer who calls himself Pig. Enough said. Tickets are $12 in advance, available through Ticketmaster, 561-966-3309, 954-523-3309, 305-358-5885, and $14 at the door.

Inhabitants of the New World had chili peppers and the makings of taco chips 6,100 years ago, according to new research that examined the bowl-scrapings of people sprinkled throughout Central America and the Amazon basin. Upcoming questions on the research agenda -- and this is not a joke -- include: Did they have salsa? When did they get beer? The findings described today in a 15-author report in the journal Science make chili pepper the oldest spice in use in the Americas, and one of the oldest in the world.

A story published Nov. 25 stated that four people were injured during an early morning fight at the Chili Pepper nightclub on the 100 block of Southwest Third Avenue in Fort Lauderdale. The fight occurred on the street outside the club at 4:30 a.m., police said. The Chili Pepper was closed at the time of the altercation.

Forget Rosso Italia's difficult-to-find location inside the Wyndham Garden Hotel. Forget that the field of Italian restaurants in Boca Raton is mighty crowded. Because behind the doors of Rosso is a sleek, stylish restaurant with the kind of simple but solid food — and upstanding service — that should make this a favorite neighborhood spot. After nine months, maybe it already is. You can come here for a well-priced glass of wine or interesting beer and eat antipasti — including just-baked garlic bread ($5.50)

The most newsworthy foot on the minds of many South Floridians is now not Dwyane Wade's possibly plantar fasciitis-plagued hoof, but the shredded appendage of Anthony Kiedis. The Red Hot Chili Peppers gravity-defying pointman finally had surgery for multiple injuries on his chronically tender right foot, forcing a postponement of the band's U.S. tour, set to begin Jan. 20 at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise. The new concert date is April 2. The Peppers camp reported Wednesday morning that Kiedis, seen in a big black walking boot at Sunday's Los Angeles Lakers game at the Staples Center, recently underwent surgery to remove a crushed sesamoid bone and correct a detached flexor tendon in his foot.

Dear Pharmacist: You've mentioned that cayenne pepper is very healing for the stomach and can prevent ulcers. How can that be? I thought chili pepper would burn a hole in your gut faster than you could say, "hot chili pepper. " Not so? — A.M., The Villages, Fla. Dear A.M.: Not so. While capsaicin — the heat-causing compound found in varying degrees in all chilies — would most likely light up an existing ulcer, it nevertheless has been shown to destroy the ulcer-causing H. pylori bacteria.

By Drs. Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz and King Features Syndicate Inc, September 18, 2010

Love the sizzle and heat of a hot pepper? Good for you. Because there's new evidence that capsaicin -- the ingredient that makes jalapenos, habaneros and red pepper flakes blisteringly hot -- ups fat burning and lowers blood pressure. The details: Plenty of studies show that the fiery ingredient in smokin' hot peppers turns up your body's fat-torching furnace. Now we know why: Capsaicin activates about 20 different fat-burning proteins. Don't expect a few shakes of cayenne to cancel out a bowl of cheesy, greasy nachos.

Laura Chapot of Wellington was a double winner at the FTI Winter Equestrian Festival on Saturday at the Palm Beach International Equestrian Center. Chapot, daughter of legendary trainer and coach Frank Chapot, teamed with Bradberry to win the $6,000 1.40-meter timed class. She also finished fifth in the same class with Chili Pepper. Chapot and Chili Pepper bounced back to win the $6,000 1.40-meter speed challenge, finishing ahead of St. Andrew's alumnus Ali Wolff, now a freshman at University of Tampa, and her mount Hertel Landman.

The other cats strut with their tails in the air. Chili Pepper sits in the corner, head down. A Lauderhill police officer is accused of pepper-spraying the cat in May outside a Chili's restaurant in Lauderhill. "She needs a lot of special love," said Tamera Bolduc of Coconut Creek, who runs the Animal Aid Adoption Center in Boca Raton, where Chili Pepper has been awaiting adoption. Chili Pepper's story warmed the hearts of animal lovers, 40 of whom have called in the past week to ask about adopting her, Bolduc said.